Message from the National Committee
2/18/07
Greetings,
I hope this message finds you and your families in the best of health and spirits.
The NPVT will begin hosting monthly PVT teleconferences starting on Monday February 26 at 5:30pm Pacific Time. The goal of these teleconferences will be to promote communication amongst local studio level PVTC and the NPVT to better our efforts nationally.
If you are interested in participating in the upcoming teleconference you may contact me at joshduncan@soobahkdo.com for the telephone # and password.
As always if you have any questions feel free to contact either myself or Larry Greenberg Sa Bom Nim.
Yours in the Moo Duk Kwan,
Joshua Duncan
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1/2/07
Greetings,
I hope this letter finds you and your families in the best of health and spirits.
As many of you know Kwan Jang Nim has asked that I serve as Chairman for the National President’s Vision Tour Committee for the next 2 years. It is an honor to have been selected for this task and with your support and participation I am confident we can achieve the Kwan Jang Nim’s goals of seeing measurable progress toward vision objectives during the next two years.
The main charge of the NPVTC is to seek out, share and support all Vision Tour related activities that are being conducted by do jangs and Federation members. You can review some of the successful efforts that have already been profiled in the 2006 Nationals Program by downloading your copy here:
http://soobahkdo.editme.com/NationalChampionshipsProgramIndex
We will be conducting Vision Tour Committee Teleconferences in the New Year and providing opportunities for your studio and your committee’s activities to be showcased and profiled by the National Vision Committee so we can share your activity with other members nationwide. All interested studios and /or Vision Tour Committee members are invited to participate in the teleconferences and share your activities, your ideas and your thoughts for supporting Kwan Jang Nim’s vision goals. You may even be asked to be a special “guest” speaker during one of our teleconferences. You can always view the schedule of upcoming teleconferences here: http://soobahkdo.editme.com/NPVTTeleconferenceIndex.
In addition we will also be summarizing the information shared during each teleconference so it can be shared with others who may have been unable to attend.
I invite you to be part of our reports to the Kwan Jang Nim and your fellow members by virtue of your active pursuit of the President’s Vision. Take action, then tell us about it during a teleconference, then we can tell others about it through the Federation and Instructor’s Newsletters and other means.
Should you ever have any questions or thoughts, or if you want to volunteer your time and service please contact us at joshduncan@soobahkdo.com or Larry Greenberg Sa Bom Nim at lgreenberg@soobahkdo.com.
Through your actions, the next two years can certainly yield measurable results and progress toward the Kwan Jang Nim Vision objectives.
Thank you for your support and I look forward to speaking with you in a teleconference soon.
Yours in the Moo Duk Kwan,
Joshua Duncan
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Dear Studio Committee Chairpersons,
Greetings and best wishes.
I regret that it is time for me to step aside from my position as chairman of the NPVTC. I have very much enjoyed the past two years and appreciated the opportunity to meet so many fine people while contributing some small thing to the Art. My hope remains that the studio committees continue to work together to do whatever is required to see the Art grow.
I have indeed enjoyed working with you. The personal phone calls of February and March allowed me to listen to more than Action examples; I asked to hear anything you considered relevant to growth, and many of you responded with concerns based in years of association with Soo Bahk Do/Moo Duk Kwan. I felt these issues represented a foundation upon which to design and implement the voluntary actions of the studio committees. To this end a 43 page report was prepared and submitted to the other national committee members for review, and subsequently to the Federation and the Kwan Jang Nim. This report includes all of the Vision in Action examples I received from the phone calls and written requests. It also includes quotes from over 25 long-standing, and not so long-standing, practitioners. In these words lie both hope, and concern. The quotes were summarized in a Theme section, where I attempted to group consistent points of discussion. This section was followed by Recommendations, in which programs were created in direct response to the needs expressed by the membership, and offered for voluntary participation by the studio committees. Key aspects to all this were courage and action. Sa Bom Nim Pryor’s report on the status of declining studio and Federation membership has dictated the need for bold steps in response to the Kwan Jang Nim’s Vision, and what it will in fact take to bring this to reality.
Again, I feel we need to look at our goals, and what it will truly take to achieve them, with courage and objectivity. I think we need to do, and do now, whatever is required to place the Vision into the realm of sound business and marketing practice. This can be done without losing the Moo Do Values; indeed the Moo Do Way will remain our greatest asset.
Sa Bom Nim Josh Duncan has a copy of the Report, and I hope each of you requests this and finds it valuable. It represents my response to your time, sincerity, and hopes for the future.
Thank you for making me a more aware, and hopefully better, person.
Sincerely in Moo Duk Kwan,
Stanley Odle
27 June 2006
5/9/06
Click to download latest message from the Chairman of the PNVTC
Dear Members of the Moo Duk Kwan,
Greetings to all and best thoughts for the coming spring.
This past March was a time for travel; first to California for business and the opportunity to visit many studios throughout Region Nine, and then to New Jersey for some days of discussion at Headquarters. It was felt that time spent in direct conversation might prove beneficial for coordinating Vision efforts with other Federation activities. Planning for this had begun before the Hu Kyun In Seminar had been scheduled, but the opportunity to train with, and possibly listen to the ideas of, the charter members was almost too good to be true. Five days after my arrival I had piles of paper and the memory of a single, somewhat chilling, experience.
The Guardians of the Art Seminar came together quickly and expertly. One had the impression that this was a long-standing annual event rather than a first-time venture. Within but a few weeks the event was conceptualized, organized, and came to pass. Over 210 students attended, representing nine regions and 54 studios. To be taught techniques by such practitioners, and at times by the very creator of a technique, was a bit dazzling; even the pain felt different.
As grand as this was, the work that brought me to New Jersey remained: a look at the coordination of nationwide efforts, and NPVTC support of these efforts, structured to further the growth of the Moo Duk Kwan. Throughout March personal calls were made to every studio with a registered Vision Committee. It was an opportunity to meet the committee chairpersons while requesting examples of Vision activities and anything else that might bear on growth of the art. Over thirty chairpersons replied with a wealth of information. My visit to Southern California allowed for more personal input from many studio owners and their committee people. All this, coupled with what I was privileged to hear from the many seniors during and after the Hu Kyun In Seminar, contributed to a growing pile of notes. This information will be made available soon, but for my time at the Seminar these many experiences came together as a sensation of impending movement; of the heavy stirrings that precede an awakening.
This sensation began with the response of those in attendance at the Certified Instructor/Ko Dan Ja clinic; a response far different from that offered during the first NPVTC presentation at the 2004 Nationals. It continued during the closing event, the Our Living History: A Moment with the Masters seminar. As the presenting members answered a variety of questions, my mind wandered to a question I had been asked so many times over my short time with the art: “When was the U.S. Federation founded, and where?” Listening to the Masters reminisce, I pictured them some thirty years ago at a Hilton Hotel not so far from here. Where has the art taken them; what have they seen? Yet here they are still, home again. But then, the odd chill: Will one day thirty years in the future a student not yet born be asked, “And when was the first Hu Kyun In Seminar, and where?” Will they answer, with an eye on that so-pretty orange belt, “March 2006 Sir; Headquarters, New Jersey?” This moment was history, and happening before our eyes.
March 18th 2006 is a month gone. It was lived by those there, and there in spirit. That the events of this day become a question one day depends on what each of us does with the time before us. I am reminded of an interview I had the fortune of experiencing that included some top Soviet and American nuclear weapons physicists, meeting for the first time in Albuquerque, in 1989. As cameras rolled the question was posed, “Who is responsible for the weapons you create?” One Soviet brusquely replied, “The Government, of course.” His colleague, a quiet Russian man, thought for some time and shook his head, “I am…if not me, then whom?”
The Federation is moving toward listening and providing coordinated support for growth; the NPVTC is here to support the local studio committees share ideas as to how they are moving towards this goal. Yet in the end Federation growth will happen as each of us accepts the giving of the gift as an opportunity, and a personal responsibility.
Sincerely in Moo Duk Kwan,
Stanley Odle
April, 2006
1/25/06
Greetings and best wishes to all for the New Year.
Upon his return from Moment with the Masters, our Sa Bom Nim, Curt McCauley of Channel Town Soo Bahk Do in La Conner WA, seemed excited. During class we found our why: new techniques to teach and his observations of the response to Kwan Jang Nim’s request to speak with those interested in sharing the Vision in Action efforts of their studio committees. “First just a few, but within minutes Kwan Jang Nim was surrounded by seated practitioners…I had to keep backing up,” Sa Bom Nim McCauley said with a smile. There has been much growth with committee formation, registration, and community effort this past year.
We look to powerful growth this year, and here are some of the plans. Kwan Jang Nim has been calling studio owners with active committees to express his gratitude for their efforts. When he has finished I will personally be calling the committee chairpersons of each of these schools. I would like to begin to get to know each chairperson personally and also to request examples of what they have done, are doing, or have planned to make the values of our Art visible to their communities. And equally as important we may discuss the growth in studio membership they have witnessed as a result of their efforts. It will be our intention to place many of these ideas on the National President’s Vision Tour website as models for the efforts of studios nationwide.
To continue our personal contact, we are looking to establish a monthly committee teleconference program making pertinent topics available to all committee chairpersons. This information will also be posted on our site. The goal: growth of the Moo Duk Kwan and its values. We have the dignity of our Art; we have the Value and the desire to bring this to new members; and it’s time to grow. It is the purpose of the National PVT Committee to facilitate this growth, and the purpose of the local Committees to initiate action to create this growth. We can, and will, help each other realize our goals.
We are working to make registration and communication easier. If you experience a problem, please use the phone. You may contact your Regional Representative or me at 360 856-0946. Contact information is listed at this site.
Thank you for your work completed, and the exciting efforts ahead.
Sincerely in Moo Duk Kwan,
Stanley Odle
8/31/05
Dear Members and Friend of the Moo Duk Kwan
I have recently returned from our Region 10 annual summer camp, this year held in Ellensburg Washington. We were fortunate to have excellent weather, and a teacher who, when Sa Bom Nim Mason was caught in airline tangles, referred to himself as a “substitute.” This substitute teacher was Kwan Jang Nim, and no one complained. After class we attended his Vision Tour seminar and were offered the question, “What have you done?” There were some good answers dealing with the formation of new studios, and there were more than a few silent faces.
Later Kwan Jang Nim asked me much the same question, “Where are we now?” and continued with his thoughts. We have four rings, he said, with the National President’s Vision Tour Committee as the first, inner, ring. The second ring (and he drew these) is the Studio Committee; the third is the Membership, and the final, outer, ring is the Community. We have the National Committee in place, and the membership is willing to go to the waiting Community; what is stopping us then from realizing the growth of the Art we have committed ourselves to? And he put his pencil point on the word, “Studio Committee.”
Soon now every Soo Bahk Do Moo Duk Kwan studio in the United States will be receiving a phone call from their personal NPVTC representative with the same question placed before Region 10: “What has been done…Who is your Studio Committee Chairperson?” It is hoped that many, if not every, studio will have a name to offer.
We strongly encourage every studio to accept a volunteer chairperson and supporting committee members; they are there. It is the intent of the National Committee to form a nucleus of active local committees, and to connect these local committees with each other as well as with ourselves. We want to see the sharing of ideas designed to allow our membership to reach the waiting community…with the gift of the Moo Do Way.
The Vision in Action notebooks are in every studio, and the website is in place. Any member of the National Committee may be contacted directly for support, at any time. We welcome suggestions and are even now adjusting the website. We have made much progress. After Kwan Jang Nim’s Vision Tour address, several parents came to us and said they now understood what the Moo Duk Kwan was, and how much bigger it is than they had thought. Many more await this awareness, and all of us are here to provide them with the gift of the answer.
Sincerely in Moo Duk Kwan,
Stanley Odle
8/12/05
Dear Members and Friends of the Moo Duk Kwan,
A long-planned road trip from Washington State to my childhood home in Southern California afforded me the opportunity to attend the recent Black Belt Magazine presentation at Universal Studios. The three-day event brought many disciplines of the martial arts community together, with booths, demonstrations, and conversation allowing for observation and gentle comparison. Others attendees, through the cyberdojang, have provided excellent accounts of the awards banquet and early morning seminar. It is a small and personal reaction to these, and to Sa Bom Nim Kenyon's afternoon demonstration, that I would like to offer.
Along with hundreds of people I watched Kwan Jang Nim walk to the podium to receive his award. He spoke, and bowed to the audience. Sa Bom Nim Gilmore mentioned that he was the only recipient to do this, and I felt proud of our president's humility. The next morning Kwan Jang Nim spoke of Moo Do values and some challenging aspects of bringing these to the public. The question that follows me constantly once again spoke out: How are we to do this? It was soon time for the Soo Bahk Do demonstration.
In contrast to all that came before or after, those who performed the techniques of Soo Bahk Do demonstrated the foundation that supports the art. Sa Bom Nim Gilmore wrote that Sa Bom Nim Kenyon’s team wanted to "be in stark contrast to the demonstrations of the previous evening" and to "perform in a manner that would make our Kwan Jang Nim proud." I will say for certain they accomplished the first goal, and, judging from the look on Kwan Jang Nim's face, most likely accomplished the second. I know that the skill and effort of the team was without parallel and left me feeling honored to be part of such as I had witnessed. One word, that took into account the pervious night's presentation, the morning's seminar, and the demonstration, came to mind: dignity. The dignity inherent within the art.
Kwan Jang Nim had indeed bowed as he accepted the award on behalf of the Moo Duk Kwan, and the Moo Duk Kwan is its membership. The award is then not so much the recognition of a man, but of what that man stands for. His words of this being a good week for the Moo Duk Kwan said as much. How is this, then, a good week for the art; and what is the value of this recognition?
We are charged with seeing the membership grow and so are challenged by the aspects of commercialism contrasting with philosophy. During the drive home to Washington I considered this and the word “gift” surfaced. Perhaps in seeing the art less as something to promote but rather as something to give may allow its value to be received rather than resisted. It is a subtle distinction, but one that feels right. I came to the art when an old volleyball teammate who had just been promoted to Dan said, “Stan, it’s for you.” Just that. Some years later I approached another friend who had played on the same team with the same gift. When he received his red belt a few months ago he smiled and said simply, “Thank you.” The gift grows as we give it away. The recent recognition of the values of the Moo Duk Kwan makes this an excellent time for giving, and a fleeting one.
The Vision in Action notebook and website have been created to support individual studio committees in their efforts to make the Moo Do values available to their communities. These are tools. They include a section on approaching the media. The Black Belt event is a powerful and attractive approach to local newspapers. It is an opportunity to discuss the values of the art on a personal level. It is a chance for the individual studio and practitioner to take action, to give the gift, and to share with others across the country how you placed vision in action.
Sincerely in Moo Duk Kwan,
Stanley Odle
7/24/05
Greetings to all members and friends of the Moo Duk Kwan.
Please enjoy your time with the website. It is your place for questions, answers, and ideas. In the future this box will contain messages from various committee members. For now may I, as the National Committee Chairman, simply welcome you and express my enthusiasm for the President’s Vision, and our growing efforts to bring this vision to reality.
Yours in the Moo Duk Kwan,
Stan Odle